He slid into the booth across from me, running his hands through his unruly chestnut locks. “Sorry I’m late. I was…otherwise engaged.” His lips lifted into a wry smile, just as I noticed the handicapped bathroom’s door open again behind him.
A tall blond woman exited, her face and hair similarly mussed up as she smoothed out her black pencil skirt and buttoned up her white blouse. I immediately recognized her as a TA at our school. She had a reputation for being kinda slutty. Clearly, though, that was inaccurate.
She sauntered past our table, her nude stilettos clicking on the tiled floor, and gave Gabriel a knowing smile. He looked at her briefly, clearly not as enamored with her as she was with him.
He leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table. “So…what’s new with you?” he asked, like everything was perfectly normal, like I didn’t just catch him having sex in the bathroom of a coffee house.
I stared at him for several seconds in disbelief. When I could find my voice, I said, “You didn’t.”
“What, that?” he said, hitching his thumb back towards the bathroom. “That was nothing.”
“So you didn’t just have sex with that woman in the bathroom,” I clarified, not buying a word of it.
“Oh no, I did. I just meant that it didn’t mean anything to me. It was just a quickie.” He shrugged, like it was no big deal.
“Do you even know her?” My voice raised an octave as I stared at him incredulously.
“I knew her for about fifteen minutes in that bathroom. Didn’t catch her name, though.”
“You hooked up with a total stranger in a bathroom,” I clarified again.
He shrugged. “Bathroom was the best option at the time.”
Damn. I knew Gabriel must’ve had casual sex on occasion, but this was way out of my league. Who knows, maybe if I’d had more experience in that department I’d be sexually adventurous too… Although I doubted any amount of experience I’d gather could live up to his sexploits.
I cleared my throat. “That’s pretty…”
He smirked. “Gross?”
“Actually, I was going to say ballsy. I’d never have the guts to do something like that in such a public place, or with a total stranger.” I shrugged. “I’d be too worried I’d catch something.”
His eyes glinted mischievously. “What if you didn’t have to worry about diseases? Would you do it then?”
I took a sip of my iced mocha. “Maybe… He’d have to be really hot, though. Scorching, in fact.”
“Sorry to burst your bubble, Em, but every other guy pales in comparison to me.” Gabriel gave me his best movie-star smile, and I had to admit, if I were the type to do one-night stands, he’d be at the top of my list.
I grinned. “Sorry to burst your bubble, Gabriel, but I can think of someone who’d give you a run for your money.”
His brows lifted. “Is that so?”
I nodded. “He’s very easy on the eyes, although he’s not exactly Mister Congeniality–at least he wasn’t…” I frowned and fiddled with my straw, knowing I’d said too much. It hadn’t been my intention to come here and talk about Thomas. If anything, I’d wanted to come here and get distracted from him.
I glanced up, seeing Gabriel’s face was serious. “Tell me about him,” he said.
I sighed and leaned back. “He’s just this stupid guy. He was kind of a dick to me at first, but now he’s being really nice… I just don’t get him.”
“He probably likes you. Guys tend to have a shitty way of showing it.”
I snorted. “ ‘Shitty’ doesn’t even begin to cover it.” I shook my head and bit the inside of my cheek. “Honestly, I think he’s just looking for a challenge.”
“Let me explain how boys work, Em. Ninety percent of the time, if a guy’s being nice to you, that means he wants something. And that something is almost always located in your panties.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “You’re being nice to me. What do you want?”
His jaw twitched. “I’m the remaining ten percent. I just like your company.”
My eyes narrowed on him. “That’s funny, you don’t seem like the type of guy who likes women for their company.”
I figured he’d make some stupid joke, but he didn’t. He was totally serious as he said, “I’m not. There are no women I associate with on a regular basis outside of...” His eyes darted to the handicapped bathroom before meeting mine briefly. “Aside from you, that is.”
I softened a little and smiled. “And why is that?”